Scientific Business Development Manager, AI Sim
About SandboxAQ
SandboxAQ is a high-growth company delivering AI solutions that address some of the world's greatest challenges. The company’s Large Quantitative Models (LQMs) power advances in life sciences, financial services, navigation, cybersecurity, and other sectors.
We are a global team that is tech-focused and includes experts in AI, chemistry, cybersecurity, physics, mathematics, medicine, engineering, and other specialties. The company emerged from Alphabet Inc. as an independent, growth capital-backed company in 2022, funded by leading investors and supported by a braintrust of industry leaders.
At SandboxAQ, we’ve cultivated an environment that encourages creativity, collaboration, and impact. By investing deeply in our people, we’re building a thriving, global workforce poised to tackle the world's epic challenges. Join us to advance your career in pursuit of an inspiring mission, in a community of like-minded people who value entrepreneurialism, ownership, and transformative impact.
Job Summary
We are looking for a technically-minded, entrepreneurial, business development leader with experience bringing new technologies to market for applications in the pharmaceutical and biopharma industry verticals. This individual will partner with the Head of Commercial for Simulation leading business development projects, from search and evaluation through to negotiation and execution, while contributing commercial and technical insights to support the Simulation business unit’s overall strategy. You will act as an interface with our customers, potential customers, and technology partners for these sectors and help evolve our go to market model, in close collaboration with our product, R&D, engineering, and broader business teams.
Core Responsibilities
- Business Development
- Support our Head of Commercial for Simulation to execute and deliver on our BD strategy for our AQBioSim business which focuses on drug discovery and drug development.
- Empathize with the pain points of scientists and lead strategic relationships with key opinion leaders in the application of AI and physics methods to early drug discovery and development, building a network of TechBio adopters, and top funnel leads
- Inform, shape, and document high value commercial business use cases with customers and internal technical teams for the simulation business unit in support of Company and BU objectives, primarily focused on AQBioSim
- Grow top of funnel lead volume, qualify and nurture opportunities all the way through to write, negotiate and close commercial terms in partnership with other areas of the company, always ensuring exceptional outcomes for the customer
- Fluently and dynamically communicate the value proposition to deeply scientific and technical Biopharma audiences
- Support of ongoing BioSim work plans and contracts from a technical, operational and strategic angle
- Proactively improve our value proposition and strengthen product market fit through identification of priority buyer and user profiles, and collaboration with the product team and R&D teams
- Develop a clear and actionable growth and scaling strategy for AQBioSim, to include guidance for market segment strategic planning
- Act as the lead on competitive market intelligence, providing timely, compelling and actionable insights covering the field of physics and AI-driven drug discovery
- Develop case studies and proof points from existing work tailored to potential customers, and help convert some of these to marketing ready materials in collaboration with the marketing team
- Help foster a culture of continuous improvement and experimentation, as well as staying ahead of emerging technologies and methodologies in simulation and in drug discovery
- Evangelize BioSim across the ecosystem, speaking at conferences / trade shows / industry events
- Business Strategy
- Support product development via solicitation and distillation of market feedback
- Develop and implement scalable sales and delivery processes to support growth and customer retention
- Identify potential technology partners and acquisition opportunities, support post merger integration
Qualifications and Skills
- Empathetic leader who is invested in the team’s success, a champion for our customers
- Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry Computational Chemistry or equivalent practical experience, advanced degree strongly preferred
- 6+ years of hands-on experience split between science and selling large-dollar technology solutions to customers in the Biopharma and Pharmaceutical industry, with an accessible network of senior BD relationships
- Track record of closing deals and partnerships
- Technical depth in molecular modeling tools and key methodologies of computational drug discovery
- Familiarity with macro trends and key players in the AI/ML-enabled simulation ecosystem
- A proactive, detail-oriented approach to business development, project management, and an eagerness to learn
- Analytically minded with an ability to connect seemingly unrelated information and ideas, and different technical specialties
- Ability to articulate complex technical issues in succinct, cohesive summaries to diverse audiences
- Experience launching new business verticals and navigating and closing complex, technical, enterprise contracts
- Experience in the chemical or materials industry is a plus
- Open to 20% travel in line with customer demands
The US base salary range for this full-time position is expected to be $192k - $268k per year. Our salary ranges are determined by role and level. Within the range, individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. This role may be eligible for annual discretionary bonuses and equity.